Wovenhand (Denver, Colorado), led by former 16 Horsepower lead singer David Eugene Edwards, combines elements of neofolk, alternative country, post-rock, punk, industrial music, folk rock, old-time music and native American music, among other influences.

HistoryThe band began in 2001 as a solo project for Edwards while 16 Horsepower was taking a temporary hiatus. Wovenhand's first live shows were performed by Edwards and multi-instrumentalist Daniel McMahon; the self-titled debut album was released in 2002 on Glitterhouse Records. Performances following this record featured Edwards, McMahon, drummer Ordy Garrison and cellist Paul Fonfara. 2003 saw the release of Blush Music, the score to a dance performance mostly composed of reworked material from the first record. Touring behind this album featured Shane Trost replacing Fonfara.

In 2004, Consider the Birds was released on the Sounds Familyre label, which has also released the previous Wovenhand releases domestically. Edwards performed the bulk of the instrumentation in the studio; he and Garrison toured behind the record as a two-piece. 16 Horsepower disbanded the following year, and Edwards further focused his attention on Woven Hand. Peter van Laerhoven, a Belgian guitarist, was added to the lineup, while McMahon and Trost became inactive with the group.

Baltic CousinsIn some ways, Bellingham, Washington's Baltic Cousins strike their town's balance between pastoral relaxation and reckless abandon with a skill few have before them. The band is made up of experienced 'hamsters Bradley Lockhart (Wooden Wings, Black Eyes and Neckties) on guitar and vocals, Shawn Stahlberger (The Russians, Cheetah Speed) and Nika Munn(Cheetah Speed) on violin. The resulting sound is a reverb-soaked drive through Whatcom County countryside that never waits long before putting on the gas, like if Fudesco and the rest of the Cave Singers hadn't gotten all the rock out of their system, or a less dour Sixteen Horsepower.

Which is not to say that Baltic Cousins' music lacks gravity. Lockhart himself can channel the biblical (see relational sturm und drang of "Break Bread") but keeps the drama grounded in authentic details; swimming, comradery, nights out at the bar. These are songs of youthful restlessness and heartbreak, desperation with a hopeful edge. These songs find the thin line where your road-trip americana concrete club punk meet and stomp the hell out of it. Stahlberger's galloping beats offset Munn's melodic-but-noisy (once again, somewhere between the front porch and John Cale) fiddling. All the while, Lockhart howls his desperation overhead with convincing fervor. "I'll tell you a story!" he rails. He ain't kiddin'https://www.facebook.com/balticcousins?fref=ts

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Location

The Shakedown(View)
1212 State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
United States